Program focuses on bringing English, Spanish speakers together to share languages

Comudidad Integrada, a group dedicated to supporting the successful integration of immigrants and Moffat and Routt county residents, hosts an English-Spanish conversational group at noon Saturday at Serendipity Coffee Shop, 576 Yampa Ave.

Knitting not just for grandmas anymore

Cheyenne Ossen, 11, started knitting four years ago just for something to do. "Mom wanted me to get involved in 4-H, and she asked me what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to be an old grandma knitting," Ossen said.

I was over in Rifle today, visiting my granddad at the Veterans Nursing Home. Looking around, like I often do, I wondered how I could help. These are vets or their spouses who at sometime or another served their country for all of us. Some have supportive families and some do not. Before I left, I asked the charge nurse and activities director if they had a wish list for their residents.

Veterans Hotline

I hope you paused during Turkey Day festivities, the big meal and football games, and thought of those serving on foreign soil, protecting our freedoms and trying to allow democracy to reach others from past tyrannical and oppressive regimes.

I hope you all had the kind of Thanksgiving you wanted. I had a good one, giving thanks to my family, Yampa Valley Medical Center, The Memorial Hospital, friends, neighbors ... my list goes on ... the ambulance crew, blood donors, staff members.

Monday, November 27

Moffat County's budget analyst, Tinneal Gerber, said the best way to describe the county's proposed $45.6 million 2007 budget is maintaining the status quo, with no big changes over last year's numbers.

8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Moffat County Tourism Association hosts workshops for agencies that plan to request funding at the Museum of Northwest Colorado, 590 Yampa Ave. Applications are accepted from Dec. 1 to 31. If you cannot attend the workshops, call Shelly Flannery at 824-2335 or 629-3685.

Sunday, November 26

Mother-daughter pair Irene and Alexis Losolla are more like friends than family

They dress alike. They are about the same height. They enjoy ice cream and a movie on Friday nights. They joke with each other. They talk about boys. They even have dance parties. They're best friends. They're mother and daughter.

Community leader passed away earlier this year

This year's Volunteer of the Year award to be presented by the Boys & Girls Club of Craig will recognize a worthy individual for her volunteer work and a late community leader for her past involvement.

Free parenting class to be offered

Sixty-seven years ago on Nov. 28, 1939, Alfred LaVergne More, age 91, and Virginia Green, 86, eloped to Manila, Utah in Vergne's Dad's Ford truck with their best friends Frank and Alice Smith along as witnesses.

Tour of Lights offers $200 prize to best decorated house

Businesses report hits and misses on one of the year's biggest shopping days

Norman Rule, an employee at Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply, came into work at 8 a.m. Friday morning expecting to see an onslaught of customers chomping at the bit to get started on one of the year's biggest shopping days -- Black Friday.

Black Mountain Theatre presents classic play, "A Christmas Carol"

Last year when Paula Sadvar and her 12-year-old granddaughter, Annie, watched the Parade of Lights wind its way down the Craig streets, Annie pointed out to her grandmother that only a few floats were participating.

This letter is addressed to all the truck drivers -- the big truck drivers (city, county, Colorado Department of Transportation, tankers, dump trucks, flatbeds, Schwan's, you know who you are) that travel along First Street.

Tuesday, November 21

Moffat County is holding an employee benefit fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Moffat County Courthouse's main floor conference room. There is a 7 a.m. meeting at the Road and Bridge Department.

The Moffat County FFA is selling boxes of fruit for the holiday season, with procedes going to support the organization. Fruit for sale includes apples, oranges, pears and grapefruit, and it ranges in price from $13 to $22.

Board certifies election results

The winners still won.
While results remain the same, the totals changed slightly on Friday as a three-member board of Moffat County election officials certified vote totals from the Nov. 7 general election. The totals have been submitted to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office for review.

Charles B. Hayes, 77, of Grand Junction, passed away Friday at Mantey Heights Rehabilitation Center. He was born Sept. 26, 1929, in LeCross, Kan., the son of Charles and Genevieve Mlinek Hayes. Charles married Dorothy Stice on Oct. 7, 1977, in Grand Junction. He was employed as a machinist for the Blanchart Machine Co. and later Emerson Music Co.

Water workshops, sponsored by the Colorado River District and Colorado Northwestern Community College, are scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Hayden Library and Dec. 5 at CNCC's Craig Campus.

It seems strange to me that the Boys & Girls Club is sponsoring a Christmas party that they serve alcoholic beverages and are having casino gambling. What kind of message are we sending the youths of our community with this?

Ducks Unlimited banquet raises money for habitat preservation

Local couple keeps tradition alive

It's a rite of passage that every third-grade student in Craig pays a visit to the John J. Sherman Youth Camp near Freeman Reservoir. There, they learn campfire safety, survival tips, and the wonders of the great outdoors.

Uncertainty surrounding funï¿½--ding for the state's higher education system makes Colorado Northwestern Community Colï¿½--lege's overwhelming mill levy victory in the November general election all the more important, said Gene Bilodeau, dean of CNCC's Craig campus.

The Bulldogs succeeded in amazing me again. On Nov. 11, the Bulldogs squared off against six other schools from the Western Slope in matches that came down to the wire. With only 25 players on the team, each player competed head-to-head at least twice against some hardy opponents.

Avoid food poisoning during holidays

State health officials reminded Coloradans this week about the importance of properly handling and preparing foods to avoid getting food poisoning this holiday season. Jeff Lawrence, food safety program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Consumer protection Division, said the most frequent causes of food borne illness are improper cooling of foods, lack of adequate hand washing, preparation of ready-to-eat foods with contaminated utensils and improper cooking temperatures.

County to make money through mineral lease agreement

Loved ones celebrate the life of fallen man Johnathan Gill

A bond was forged between mother and son Dec. 17, 1985, when Lisa Gill first locked eyes on her son, Johnathan, a "handsome, smiling young lad." Charmed by his bright eyes and vibrant smile, it was a connection that didn't dull during the next 20 years.

Thursday, November 16

School district officials: Classroom placement must be best for all students

Dark Horse Liquors wins second title

At the beginning of the season, many teams try to find their identity and establish themselves for success. But for some Craig Parks and Recreation Department league teams, just getting enough players to show up for games is good enough.

I recently attended the 2006 Food Safety Education Conference sponsored by the United State Department of Agriculture and the Center for Disease Control, and even though there was a great deal of attention given to the recent E. coli outbreaks, the food pathogen that received even more attention was Listeria monocytogenes, a relatively new player in the field of foodborne illness. Ever since the U.S. government became aware of listeriosis, they have been closely tracking outbreaks and the causes.

Former mentors steered Veronda toward Moffat County

Ed Veronda's resume is decorated with big-city stints in Denver, but when the young attorney, a 2006 graduate of Colorado University law school, went looking for jobs he followed the advice of former mentors.

Wednesday, November 15

Youth wrestling gets under way in Craig

Billy Bingham knew what he was getting himself into when he began the Craig Bad Dogs youth wrestling program eight years ago. What he didn't know was how deep his desire for the sport of wrestling ran.

English-Spanish conversational group starts in December

Comunidad Integrada, or Integrated Community, is starting an English-Spanish conversational group for English-speaking community members to learn Spanish from native speakers while Spanish-speaker residents learn English.

You have some mighty fine folks in your part of Colorado. My wife and I were recently visiting in Colorado and Idaho. We had been in Ouray and chose to get to I-80 in Wyoming by way of Craig and Baggs, Wyo. (We have a daughter and family in Idaho Falls.)

Craig gas prices just don't add up

Our homes are supposed to be safe havens. But for many, that is not the case. Pollutants that exist within homes are quite harmful, particularly for people with heart or pulmonary disease and asthma. If you are healthy, but experience symptoms of eye, nose or throat irritation, coughing, phlegm, chest tightness, shortness of breath or unusual fatigue, you need to be aware of common air hazards.

Mistakes hamper Moffat County in 26-0 loss at Summit

Saturday's playoff opener was supposed to be an encore to the second half of the season that the Moffat County football team put together. What it ended up being was a broken record of the same mistakes that hampered the Bulldogs at the beginning of the season.

Sunday, November 12

At about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Craig man Bill Cook was sitting quietly with his wife, Lois, listening intently as a parade of local veterans delivered an emotional tribute to the bravery of America's fighting men and women.

Thursday, November 9

The send off breakfast for the MCHS football team is being held at the OP Bar and Grill prior to the teams departure for the first round of playoffs against Summit High School in Frisco. The breakfast buffet will cost $6.75 and begins at 7 a.m. It is open to the public.

Wednesday, November 8

Drug task force pleased that Amendment 44 goes down in flames

State and Moffat County voters answered a proposed pro-marijuana ballot question Tuesday with a resounding "no," much to the agreement of the local drug task force, the Greater Routt and Moffat County Narcotic Enforcement Team.

Ceremonies call community to honor those who have served

Tuesday, November 7

As the doldrums of winter roll around, some will find themselves spending more time indoors, hanging out in front of the tube, watching countless reruns of Law & Order (mostly because it's on every hour of the day on some channel).

Bulldogs volleyball looks to the future with anticipation, hope

When Brianna Montgomery took over the Moffat County volleyball program midseason, she wasn't quite sure what to expect. But as the season progressed, it became apparent that her team had the potential to be successful.

The Memorial Hospital board of trustees, Moffat County School District, Craig City Council. These are just a few of the local governing bodies that should be lauded for taking a stand on local issues critical to the future of Moffat County.

Jantz earns Election Day victory with 68 percent of vote

The momentum that began building around Tim Jantz this summer, pushing him past a crowded field of contenders and into the GOP nomination, peaked Tuesday night when voters tabbed him to become Moffat County's next sheriff.

Monday, November 6

Citizens have been the stewards of this county for 100 years. We have taken such good care of the land that out-of-state transplants come here and tell us the land needs to be wilderness, the land of no uses except for .001 percent of the public.

A six-month investigation by the local drug task force, the Greater Routt and Moffat Narcotic Enforcement Team, has produced the arrests of eight suspects in Craig, Steamboat Springs and Grand Junction, GRAMNET commander Dusty Schulze said Monday.

Tony and Maggie St. John, of Craig, Dan and Vickie Sonntag, of Craig, and Dennis and Linda McGuinness, of Hurricane, Utah, announce the engagement of their children, Jesica Rene St. John and Edward Joseph McGuinness, both of Craig.

Tickets going quickly for annual dinner, show

Christina Currie says you'll go home with a full stomach. And a bellyache from laughter. As executive director of the Craig Chamber of Commerce, Currie knows all about the side effects of Crab Fest, the Chamber's annual fundraising dinner and comedian performance scheduled for Nov. 11.

A voter's guide to the county and state issues and the candidates on Tuesday's ballot

As voters hit the polls Tuesday, they will decide on many local and state issues and candidates. Polls in Colorado and Carbon County, Wyo., are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the general election. The following wrap-up serves as a voter's guide to the issues and candidates they can expect to see on the ballot.

Moffat County Neighbor

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) reports that there are eight times as many children in grandparent-headed households as in foster care, with half of children being raised by grandparents younger than age six.

The Craig Rural Fire Protection District has been providing outstanding service to our community since 1921. We, as a community, are entering an era where growth is imminent and unavoidable. In the near future, we will more than likely see a new hospital and our local community college (CNCC) is going build a new facility.

With a jury paneled and trial underway, attorneys arguing a forgery case Tuesday reached a settlement by agreeing to a deal in exchange for a guilty plea. Olathe man Aaron Gallegos, who was charged with forgery, pleaded guilty to second-degree forgery in 14th Judicial District Court. Judge Michael O'Hara sentenced Gallegos, who prosecutors said has no previous adult convictions, to one year of probation.

Man honored for work with drug abusers

More than a year ago, when Doug Seward approached the Communities Overcoming Meth Abuse organization with a proposal, he was welcomed -- although many had never heard of auriculotherapy, a new technology that helps meth addicts kick their habit.

Wednesday, November 1

Former Bulldog standout honored

It's been quite a few years since Pablo 'Charley' Vigil was a Moffat County Bulldog, but his mark has left a legacy. Vigil was inducted into the Adams State College hall of fame during a Sept. 22 awards banquet in Alamosa.

With Veterans Day approaching Veteran Service Organizations will be setting up tables with Buddy Poppies displays and have their donation cans out. There will be tables at various locations in Craig. Stop by and speak with these vets and/or Auxiliary members. To learn more about the origins of the Buddy Poppy and how these collected funds are used, go to www.cal-mum.com/poppy.htm